PORTSMOUTH — The prospect of mandatory furloughs is looming on the horizon for civilian workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where work is likely to be deferred on the USS Miami and a freeze on hiring and salary increases is already in place.

That was the picture laid out by members of the Seacoast Shipyard Association (SSA) on Friday during its annual meeting to discuss the economic impact of the shipyard.

For decades, SSA members have been gathering to discuss the civilian wages, contract work and supply purchases conducted through the shipyard — major economic drivers for the region.

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Ryan McBride/Staff photographer Paul O'Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council, speaks to reporters as they field questions about the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Economic Impact sheet released in earlier this year in February.

But this year, the discussion was clouded by uncertainty over how a federal logjam around the nation's budget will impact the Kittery, Maine, facility.

Shipyard activity generated civilian wages of $422 million during the past fiscal year, according to the SSA's report. About $240 million was paid to workers in Maine, while another $154 million went to shipyard employees living in New Hampshire.

“A few pages shows the dramatic impact the shipyard provides to the seacoast of New Hampshire and Maine,” said Paul O'Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council. He joined SSA member Captain Bill McDonough and others from the association to discuss the report with members of the media and representatives of the offices of U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Angus King, I-Maine; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.

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Ryan McBride/Staff photographer Members of the Seacoast Shipyard Association spoke with the media and members of five elected officials representatives Friday afternoon at the Chamber of Commerce in Portsmouth about the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Economic Impact.

Speaking at the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, O'Connor said so-called “sequestration cuts” taking place on the federal level will likely result in one furlough day per week for all shipyard employees, beginning at the end of April.

The furloughs are scheduled to last for 22 weeks, unless Congress takes action to avert the civilian furloughs. O'Connor said the shipyard would likely shut down for one day per week to handle the furlough time, though some essential employees — such as security officers — would likely stagger their furlough time.

This year's economic impact report showed that net employment stood at 5,313 positions in 2012. The number includes almost 5,000 shipyard workers, as well as those employed in the Naval Medical Clinic, as well as workers in the Naval engineering program, and the Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training program.

The course is required for personnel who are designated as high risk of capture due to the nature of their military duties, according to the Navy.

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Ryan McBride/Staff photographer Paul O’Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council, listens as reporters field questions about the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Economic Impact sheet that was released in earlier this year in February.

This year's employment figure represents a net gain of 126 positions over the previous year, according to the economic impact report. O'Connor said that figure was influenced by the addition of some 150 new civilian apprentices in the past year.

One of the other striking numbers associated with the shipyard's economic activity is the payroll of military workers at the facility, which tallied $41 million last year, according to the report. Purchases of goods and services through the facility's supply department tallied another $40 million, and contracted public works services provided another $159 million, according to the report.

Advocates for the shipyard point out that the money has an impact not only on the workers and their families, but also on the small businesses in the communities where they live.

The shipyard's employees are drawn from a wide swath of cities and towns. The largest share are from Sanford/Springvale, Maine, which is home to 438 shipyard workers, comprising a payroll of $29 million. Another 385 employees live in Kittery and Kittery Point, Maine, and 307 reside in South Berwick, Maine.

In New Hampshire, Rochester continues to be the community where the greatest number of shipyard employees reside, at 366. They comprise $25 million of the civilian payroll. Dover is home to 289 employees, and Portsmouth is home to another 243.